Sigma Planning Corp Sells 18,909 Shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:APAM) by 46.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,370 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 18,909 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APAM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Artisan Partners Asset Management in the 3rd quarter worth $28,117,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 934,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,288,000 after purchasing an additional 211,965 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Artisan Partners Asset Management by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 437,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,384,000 after purchasing an additional 160,825 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,921,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $71,885,000 after buying an additional 85,443 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 361,111 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,513,000 after buying an additional 83,998 shares during the period. 86.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Stock Performance

Shares of APAM stock opened at $43.43 on Wednesday. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. has a one year low of $31.27 and a one year high of $46.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.65 and its 200 day moving average is $40.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.78. Artisan Partners Asset Management had a net margin of 22.80% and a return on equity of 73.85%. The company had revenue of $249.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artisan Partners Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a yield of 5.5%. This is an increase from Artisan Partners Asset Management’s previous None dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Artisan Partners Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is 86.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on APAM shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Artisan Partners Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 17th.

Insider Activity at Artisan Partners Asset Management

In related news, EVP Gregory K. Ramirez sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $105,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,523,403.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 18.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Artisan Partners Asset Management

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc is publicly owned investment manager. It provides its services to pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, government entities, private funds and non-U.S. funds, as well as mutual funds, non-U.S. funds and collective trusts.